Houthis say they struck Saudi Aramco refinery in Jazan

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels said on Sunday they had struck Saudi Aramco's Jazan refinery on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast with a drone. The claim came hours after Saudi Arabia said it had extinguished a fire at the facility. The Houthis said the strike was launched in response to Saudi drone incursions into northwest Yemen.

What did the Houthis say about the Jazan refinery attack?

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group's drone had successfully hit Saudi Aramco's refinery in Jazan. He said the strike was a response to drone incursions by Saudi Arabia into northwest Yemen. Saree added that Houthi forces also targeted Saudi troops and equipment near Yemen's Red Sea city of Mokha with missiles and drones.

Two military sources with the internationally recognized, Aden-based government confirmed the Houthis had attacked Mokha with missiles and drones. One source said the group also targeted pro-government forces and installations outside Mokha, along with sites on islands near the Bab al-Mandeb shipping chokepoint. The source said some targeted locations housed Saudi troops, though no military casualties were reported.

Residents in government-controlled Mokha told AFP they heard blasts across the area. One resident said they heard explosions from drones and air defenses over the port and city, while another described six consecutive explosions in the port.

Why are the Houthis attacking Saudi Arabia now?

A years-long truce in Yemen's civil war between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed government appeared to collapse last month, as fighting between regional allies of the United States and Iran intensified. In July, the Houthis announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and began hitting Saudi tankers in the Red Sea. The group controls large parts of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa and areas bordering Saudi Arabia's Red Sea provinces.

The threat to shipping and Saudi oil facilities has emerged alongside Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has become the central flashpoint between Tehran and Washington as both sides try to end the Middle East war that began in February.

What happened at the Jazan refinery fire?

Earlier on Sunday, Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said civil response teams had brought a fire at the Jazan refinery under control, without stating its cause. The facility was also targeted by the Houthis in July. Saudi Aramco's industrial security firefighting teams extinguished a fire that broke out at dawn at one of the Jazan refinery's facilities, the ministry said, adding that no injuries were reported.